Cap



A. BARTON March 3, 1936.

CAP

Filed Aug. 4, 1954 Patented Mar. 3, 1936 CAP Armand Barton, Chicago, 111., assignor oi onehalf to Arthur B. Drummond, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 4, 1934, Serial No. 738,455

1 Claim. (Cl. 215-46) My invention relates to caps.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a cap for bottles, jars, and the like, which may be readily removed by the use of a very simple instrument, such as a nail or the tine of a fork, or which may even be removed by hand without the use of any tool.

Another object is to provide a cap which may be readily removed and which has provisions for the application of a seal.

A further object is to provide a cap which may be readily removed and which can be applied to the bottle by the use of standard cap-applying machinery.

A further object is to provide a readily removable cap which may be simply formed from sheet material with a minimum of operations.

A further object is to provide a cap which can be readily removed without danger of chipping 2 the bottle neck, thereby enabling the bottle to seal properly when reapplied.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claim.

In the drawing, in which several forms of my invention are shown.-

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved cap applied to a bottle;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the 30 use of a seal;

Fig. 3 is a blank from which a cap is made; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the completed cap prior to its application to the bottle;

Fig. 5 is a side viewof Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an axial section showing a modified form of cap;

Fig. 'l is a plan view of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing still another form of cap; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing still another form of cap.

Referring to the drawing in detail and first to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the bottle cap here shown may be formed of thin sheet metal, blanked out 45 as shown in Fig. 3 and pressed into shape as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to provide a central circular portion I for extending across the mouth of the bottle, a corrugated skirt or flange portion 2 extending downwardly from the circular central por- 50 tion, to be crimped inwardly about an annular bead on the bottle neck, and a number of ears or tongues 3 extending from the flange portion to facilitate the removal of the cap and to provide for the application of a seal.

Prior to the application of the cap to the bottle,

these tongues 3 may extend upwardly and lie adjacent the corrugated flange 2, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to facilitate the use of the cap in standard capping machinery. When the cap is applied to the bottle, however, these tongues are forced downwardly to lie snugly alongside the bottle neck, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to prevent their catching on objects with which they are brought into proximity, to lessen the danger of injury to the hands of the user, and to facilitate the crimping operation in applying the cap. If desired, a seal may be applied by inserting a wire 4 in the opening 5 in the tongues and bringing the ends together and applying a seal to the ends of the wire, as shown in Fig. 2.

To remove the cap after the seal has been removed, it is only necessary to pull upwardly on one or more of the tongues 3, either by hand or by the use of some simple toolsuch as a nail inserted through the opening 5 in the tongue.

This provision for ready removal of the cap not only is a great convenience to the user but also is of importance in connection with the reuse of the bottle. With the ordinary crimped cap, it is common to remove the cap by striking or jerking it against any stationary edge which may be handy, or by hammering the cap with a sharp edged instrument. This commonly results in chipping the neck of the bottle, thus making it difiicult to secure a proper seal when the bottle is recapped. By the use of my improved cap, this danger of chipping the bottle neck is practically eliminated.

The seal between the cap and bottle neck may be efiected in any usual or suitable manner as by means of a cork insert 8 (Fig. 6).

The construction of Figs.'6 and 7 is substantially the same as that just described, except that both the circular portion of the cap and the flange portion of the cap are weakened along radially extending lines I. This facilitates the removal of the cap by the use of the tongues on the flange portion. The central circular portion of the cap may be bulged upwardly, as shown at 9 in Fig. 6, so that pressure may be applied to this bulged portion to help split the cap along the weakened lines.

The construction shown in Fig. 8 is somewhat similar to that just described in that tongues are provided extending downwardly from an annular flange portion surrounding the upper portion of the bottle neck. In Fig. 8, however, the connection with the bottle neck is effected by the provision of screw threads on the bottle neck engaging screw threads ill formed on the flange portion of the metal cap. It is obvious that in this form material other than metal, such as "Bakelite or other molded compositions, might be used.

The construction .01 Fig. 9 is the substantial equivalent of that shown in Fig. 8, except that here the connection with the bottle is elected by the provision or a pair of helically-extending lugs on the outside of the bottle neck cooperating with a pair of inwardly-extending lugs H on the flange of the cap. The cap in this form is engaged with the bottle by a sort of bayonet joint action, the cap being slipped over the bottle neck and then turned slightly to bring the lugs on the bottle cap underneath and in binding engagement with the helical projections on the bottle neck. In this form, as well as in the form of Fig. 8, the skirt portion may be provided with the downwardly-extending apertured tongues I, enabling the use of a seal, as in Fig. 2.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, thereiore, that my invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope oi the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: A bottle cap comprising a circular top portion extending across the bottle mouth, an annular flange portion extending downwardly from said circular portion to be crimped about a bead on the bottle neck, and a portion extending from said flange portion and bent upwardly to lie adiacent the flange portion prior to its application to the bottle to facilitate its application'to the bottle, said upwardly bent portion lying substantially between the plane .of the top portion and the plane 01 the lower edge 01' the flange whereby the caps may be placed edgewise in a narrow feed chute not materially greater in depth thanthe distance between said planes, said upwardly bent portion having an opening through which a tool may be inserted for removing the cap, said opening lying below the plane of the top of the cap whereby in removing the cap the tool will initially extend outwardly and downwardly from the cap and will initially bear on the outer peripheral edge of the cap to secure a relatively powerful leverage and to exert an outward and upward pull on the flange.

ARMAND BARTON. 25 

